Former state legislator Dick Franklin assumed the presidency of the board of trustees at the State Historical Society of Missouri on October 19, 2004. Succeeding Columbia attorney Bruce Beckett, Franklin’s term will run until fall of 2006. Elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 1988, Franklin represented eastern Independence and Jackson County for fourteen years, retiring in 2002. In addition to other duties, he served as chair for both the House Budget Committee and the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee.

Prior to his legislative service, Franklin worked in the field of education for thirty-two years, including a position as principal of Fort Osage Senior High School in Independence from 1965 to 1987. He received a master’s degree in education from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1963.

Regarding his term at the Society, Franklin stated, “I look forward to working with the board and Gary Kremer, our executive director, to bring a greater awareness of the Society’s rich historical collections to the people of Missouri. We will be exploring ideas concerning new and larger facilities that will provide the collections with a better environment and make them more accessible to patrons.”

A Society trustee since 1998, Dick Franklin lives in Independence with his wife Ann.